{"id":43481,"date":"2026-02-20T12:23:36","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T12:23:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=43481"},"modified":"2026-02-20T12:23:36","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T12:23:36","slug":"the-packers-should-get-ahead-of-alec-pierces-new-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=43481","title":{"rendered":"The Packers should get ahead of Alec Pierce\u2019s new contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

Timing is everything in the NFL market right now. The league is regularly seeing $25 million per year per team salary cap increases (roughly $800 million in cap increases league-wide). Clubs are also spending an average of 10 percent over the salary cap in cash spending for players, which is only compounding on top of those $25 million per year increases. The new meta is to lock in the players you\u2019re confident in keeping to long-term deals as quickly as possible, before prices continue to rise. The leaders on this front are the Philadelphia Eagles, who have been executing this \u201cpay early and lock in prices\u201d plan for the last five or so years.<\/p>\n

One of the Green Bay Packers\u2019 biggest priorities this offseason should be to get a long-term deal done with receiver Christian Watson, who is eligible to earn an extension, despite recently signing a one-year extension, because of the unique structure of his deal. If the Packers are going to pay him long-term, they should make it a priority to get his contract signed before Alec Pierce signs a multi-year deal.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

First of all, Pierce is the sixth-best free agent in 2026, according to the consensus. If he doesn\u2019t get a deal done with his Indianapolis Colts, he will be one of the hottest names on the open market and will almost certainly be the subject of a bidding war. If he does re-sign with the Colts, though, it would probably take a massive deal to get him to opt out of being the subject of a bidding war. Either way, he\u2019s going to get paid very soon.<\/p>\n

The biggest benefit that the Packers have right now is that Watson is still a year away from free agency, meaning that it\u2019s on Watson to take on the risk of his 2026 performance, should an injury pop up or something along those lines. That\u2019s one reason why Watson and Watson\u2019s camp would probably like to get a deal done in 2026, not 2027. On Green Bay\u2019s end, they probably want to get a deal done before the salary cap jumps up again in 2027 or Pierce potentially resets the market for a player of Watson\u2019s talent.<\/p>\n

Stylistically, it\u2019s hard to find a better comp for Watson than Pierce. They\u2019re both long, vertical receivers who produced best at the end of their rookie contracts and were both drafted in the second round of the 2022 draft. The comparisons are so similar that if negotiations happen between the Packers and Watson after the Pierce contract is inked, both sides will probably accept that Watson will be getting something close to a copy-paste job of Pierce\u2019s deal, be it with Green Bay or elsewhere (if the Packers don\u2019t have the stomach to pay it).<\/p>\n

Below are the average per year (APY) of the top 22 receivers in the NFL under 30 years old, which is relevant because age is very much a factor for payment in the league:<\/p>\n

\n